Small moments, happy moments for Team India, after a three-week journey through what many had feared would be a minefield, but what actually turned out to be a brisk stroll in the neighbourhood park.

After the 2-0 one-day sweep, India had rolled up the two-Test series today with a crushing win on just the third day of the final game even though Dravid shied away from any talk of retaining pride, or salvaging it. Obviously, that Trinidad nightmare still hurts badly.

But still, India can look back on this Sunday with a proud smile after stubbing out Bangladesh by an innings and 239 runs — a perfect birthday gift for manager Ravi Shastri who had walked into a team that had been badly scarred by the blaze after the World Cup.

And yes, some more happy moments — man-of-the-match Zaheer Khan’s seven wickets built on “the right area”, some gritty bowling by Kumble, battling fever, playing well below his best and, of course, those four centuries by Dinesh Kaarthick, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Bangladesh? Not having played Test cricket for the last 13 months, not a single one of their batsmen having played even a four-day domestic game last season, it was a disaster waiting to happen. And it happened in just one day — 15 wickets tumbling to some steady bowling, managing just 118 in the first innings and 135 more in the next that lasted till a few minutes before close.

Nor surprisingly, a rattled skipper Habibul Bashar, ripped into pieces for letting India bat first on a pitch as flat as a sheet of glass, announced later that he was stepping down as one-day captain, to begin with, while choosing to stay on as player for at least another year. And not surprisingly at all, coach Dav Whatmore preferred to play down the shoddy farewell gift that his team finally handed over after four fascinating years that climaxed in the West Indies.

But thankfully, amidst the gloom that began to swirl around the Bangladesh dressing room by afternoon, two of their brightest hopes for the next five years ensured that the home side could still retain those polite smiles by the end.

His team sinking rapidly, Mohammed Ashraful, Bashar’s successor, lashed out with a stinging 67 in the second innings off just 41 balls, every stroke carrying the flamboyant sign of an emerging world star — a four and two sixes in one RP Singh over, another four, another six in one over by Zaheer, and three fours in an Ishant session.

Then there was the maverick all-rounder, Mashrafe Mortaza, making the exhausted Indians sweat a bit more than they would have wanted in the end with a flailing 68-ball 70 that included two breathtaking swings for six off Kumble, and one off Sachin Tendulkar.

Finally, it took a sensational return catch — Kumble, diving forward — to end that 61-minute, 53-run eighth-wicket partnership between Mortaza and pacer Mohammad Sharif before the curtains were pulled down seven overs later.

But yes, as Dravid warned, it’s a bit too early to be popping the champagne, not with England, Pakistan and Australia coming up. For, he knows, there’s still a lot of work to be done, in catching — India’s best fielder Dinesh Kaarthick alone spilled three since last evening — quite obviously, in ground fielding, and even in learning to wrap up the wagging tail.

“I don’t get excited in most situations. My whole philosophy is to keep a perspective about things, whether it’s victory or defeat. There are things that we can take some heart from this, but we know that there are tougher challenges ahead of us, big challenges,” said Dravid.

Then, he finally admitted what this series was all about for Team India. “For us, in some ways, it was a lose-lose situation, wasn’t it? If we had come here and not done well, people would have asked ‘what’s happening?’ and if we win also, people are not going to, you know...So yes, we will keep things in perspective, keep our heads firmly on our shoulders.”

Really, they need to, because Bangladesh are done, but England are waiting.

Scoreboard

India (1st Innings):

610/3 Decl

Bangladesh (1st Innings) (Overnight: 58/5)

J Omar c Kaarthick b Khan 0

S Nafees b Khan 2

H Bashar c Dhoni b Singh 4

R Saleh c Jafar b Kumble 20

M Ashraful lbw b Khan 0

S al Hasan lbw Khan 30

M Sharif lbw Kumble 13

K Mashud c Dhoni b Kumble 25

Mortaza c Kumble b Sharma 2

M Rafique b Khan 12

S Russel not out 2

Extras (2lb, 6nb) 8

Total: (all out, 37.2 overs) 118

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-5, 3-7, 4-7, 5-40, 6-58, 7-85, 8-93, 9-110

Bowling: Zaheer 10-1-34-5, RP Singh 9-2-28-1, Kumble 9.2-3-32-3, Sharma 7-1-19-1, Powar 2-1-3-0.

Bangladesh (2nd Innings)

J Omar c Dhoni b Khan 0

S Nafees c Dhoni b Singh 4

H Bashar c Dravid b Khan 5

R Saleh c Ganguly b Powar 42

Ashraful c Tendulkar b Kumble 67

S al Hasan c Dravid b Powar 15

K Mashud c Tendulkar b Powar 8

Mortaza c Dhoni b Tendulkar 70

M Sharif c & b Kumble 17

M Rafique lbw b Tendulkar 11

S Rasel not out 1

Extras (1lb, 3w, 9nb) 13

Total: (all out, 57.3 overs) 253

Fall of wicket: 1-0, 2-10, 3-10, 4-91, 5-135, 6-150, 7-154, 8-208, 9-223

Bowling: Zaheer 8-1-54-2, RP Singh 6-1-28-1, Sharma 6-1-30-0, Kumble 15-1-72-2, Powar 16-4-33-3, Tendulkar 6.3-1-35-2.

MoM: Zaheer Khan